Is there such a thing as too much Horsepower?

I remember when 200 horsepower seemed like a lot. It was my 2002 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T. When I compared it to my friend’s 2001 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T Wolfsburg Edition it was the sure winner in a race.

Fast forward 16 years and there are SEVERAL vehicles with well over 500 ponies available under the hood. Let’s look at some current offerings of the 2018 model year.

2018 Porsche 911 Turbo – 540 horsepower

2018 Mustang GT350 – 526 horsepower

2018 Camaro ZL1 – 650 horsepower

2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk – 707 horsepower

Tesla S P 100D – 588 horsepower

2018 Audi R8 V10 – 610 horsepower

2019 Corvette ZR-1 755 horsepower

(We know it’s a 2019 but its available in the 2018 calendar year)

This is just a sampling of ‘obtainable’ cars. The average Joe, if financially equipped, can walk into the dealership and purchase one of these stupid-fast vehicles to and from the track or even to the grocery store if they are so inclined.

If you are one of the lucky few with a larger than normal checkbook and good connections you can perhaps choose from these truly special cars.

2018 Ferrari 488GTB – 661 horsepower

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Coupe’ – 740 horsepower

2018 Bugatti Chiron – 1,479 horsepower!

2018 McLaren 720S – 710 horsepower

2018 Ford GT – 647 horsepower

When is it going to be enough? How fast does one need to go? Do we need an SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk) that does 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds? Apparently we do because you can get one. Pretty soon one will need to be a fully trained race car driver just to pilot their Subaru Outback to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of milk.

Maybe that’s why they are working so diligently on the autonomous vehicles. But that is a topic for another day.